Studio Élan has announced a 4-story collection of short Yuri VNs as part of their own internal Yuri Game Jam, titled Garden Variety: Dandelion Set. Each of these stories are developed by a different team working with Studio Élan. All four of these games are playable on desktop. Individual games may be playable on Android or IOS. The idea of not having to log in, download, signing in, etc, piqued my interest – and short stories appealed. So, I reached out to our Okazu Staff members and we agree to each take one VN.
Today, Okazu presents 4 short reviews for the 4 short VNs of Studio Élan’s Garden Variety: Dandelion Set on itch.io!
Upwards, Rain!, Eleanor Walker
This was a sweet little game with an adorable twist at the end and I enjoyed it enough that I’d like to see more stories from this world/a sequel which explores the MCs’ relationship a little more. The characters are well thought out, I particularly enjoyed a certain one who only appears on screen towards the end and isn’t as black and white as she first seems. One minor character casually uses they/them pronouns which I thought was a nice touch as well. My only slightly minor gripe is that the puzzle solving could get a little repetitive, but that might just me not being very good at puzzles. Especially recommended if you’re an animal lover.
Overall – 7
On Wings Bringing Sleep, Matt Marcus
In a dark fantasy world, the fae, known as the Folk, live a secluded life in the forest. In ages past they had preyed upon humans, but after a human found a way to slay their immortal adversaries and avenge her loved ones’ deaths, a peace pact was formed. One day, a young Folk named Morgaine, shunned due to her inability to use magic, meets a beautiful human girl on the edge of the woods. I can imagine you can see where this is going.
If “dark fantasy” doesn’t give you enough of a hint as the tone of what the story includes, the developer includes a content warning for “implied domestic abuse, explicit violence, animal death, and toxic lesbianism”. If that doesn’t push you away, there are the bones of a good story here, if not a tad cliché. Morgaine’s magic struggles may make you think that ableism could be a central theme, but the story breaks a different way. To say any more about the story will spoil it, but I do like that our main character has an ex, and that the history of their relationship isn’t exactly what you’d expect. One thing I found odd was a recurring element of food being used more or less as magic recreational drugs, which makes a couple scenes that are intended as romantic feel unintentionally twisted. There are no interactive elements here, which could have allowed for some interesting narrative branching paths. I think there is some potential to expand this into a fuller game. It’s not going to blow your mind, but it certainly held my interest for the hour or so I played it.
Overall – 7
Yuri Paddle
, reviewed by Christian LeBlanc
I really wanted to like Yuri Paddle, because it has some good things going for it: murder mystery at a realistic-feeling, poorly-managed anime convention? Check! Compellingly charming artwork with a monochromatic pink color scheme? Check! Snappy, fresh-sounding dialogue with references to contemporary anime and manga touchstones and fandom/online culture? Also check!
Where the game falls apart for me is the characters. At one point, the manager of the convention talks the protagonist into temporarily ignoring a crime for the sake of the success of the convention, even though it could mean putting their guests and attendees in mortal danger. So while a panelist we meet is written as every negative, miserable person online who lives only to fight with people, I couldn’t help rooting for her, especially since she was directing her hostility at our protagonist.
For a murder mystery, we don’t even have a suspect, until the main character accuses someone in the middle of a conversation and the game just…ends. If the developers had had more time, then I think the story was meant to continue on from there and introduce us to multiple suspects, but as it was, it just felt jarring.
In spite of my negative impressions, I’d really like it if you could play this game yourself because you may have a completely different experience. The premise is solid, and the snappy banter and immensely enjoyable artwork may be more than enough for you to overrule my objections.
Overall – 4
Witch You Want, reviewed by Erica Friedman
It was a cute, fluffy Yuri romance. You are a young witch who suddenly finds herself in need of a job and the worst-rated potion shop in town (1 stars on Whelp!) needs help. What could go wrong?
We help Mirabelle, the bewitching store owner, who is flighty as a rescue kitten and as flaky as pretty much most of the witchy shop owners I have ever encountered (Which is actually quite a lot, now that I think about it. ^_^;) Can we help her rescue her reputation and save the shop? Well.. sure. And we fall for her, because it is a Yuri romance. This was the only weak area of the story. We think she’s hot from the beginning, but there isn’t any real time for us to bond. On the other hand, this is so short it now is the third VN I’ve made it all the way through, so yay for that!
Game play is in the form of relatively simple puzzles to build the potions and and while they were not complicated, I still managed to screw up my last go. Luckily that didn’t affect the outcome. Recommended if you need some fun Yuri fluff.
Overall – 8
